“It’s been a very difficult and stressful time for the couple as they deal with the day-to-day challenges of fighting this disease while trying to juggle a very active show business schedule, and raise their three young children,” the statement said.

Dion is suffering from “an illness that has caused inflammation in her throat muscles, and has not been able to perform any of her scheduled shows in Las Vegas since her last show on July 29th,” the statement said.

Dion’s shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace have been one of the hottest tickets in Las Vegas since she returned to the Strip three years ago. Her residency, which has included about 70 shows a year, is on hold “until further notice,” the statement said.

“I want to devote every ounce of my strength and energy to my husband’s healing, and to do so, it’s important for me to dedicate this time to him and to our children,” Dion said. “I also want to apologize to all my fans everywhere, for inconveniencing them, and I thank them so much for their love and support.”

Dion and Angelil began a romantic relationship when she was 19 and he was 45. The couple, along with their three sons, live in Las Vegas, where Dion has been performing for three years.

The singer briefly retired from performing in 1999 when her husband was battling throat cancer.

ABOUT: Nana Kwesi Coomson

A Freelance Journalist, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist. Editor-in-Chief of www.233times.com. A contributory writer for Ghanaian Chronicle Newspaper. An alumnus of Adisadel College where he read General Arts. He holds first degree in Bachelor of Arts from the University of Ghana; Political Science (major) and History (minor). He has also pursued MSc Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Energy with Public Relations (PR) at the Robert Gordon University in the United Kingdom. His mentors are Rupert Murdoch, Warren Buffet, Sam Jonah, Kwaku Sakyi Addo and Piers Morgan